Numerous creative fields are embracing 3D printing technology to give rise to new mediums of artistic expression, and the architecture and design industries are no different. Within these realms, innovative construction and building techniques involving 3D printing, among others, showcase environmental responsibility, setting a strong precedent for a sustainable approach in architecture, while also lending greater flexibility in design and ascertaining formal language. Examining the utility of 3D printing in architectural pursuits such as adaptive reuse and the restoration of historical edifices opens up rather unprecedented opportunities that bring together two distinct temporal instances, fusing tradition and technology.

Within our current urban systems, these symbols of a glorious past are reduced to broken objects often deemed too expensive to repair, either remaining dilapidated or getting erased by meeting their fate in landfills. Such historical structures can benefit from data accuracy, cost and time efficiency, sustainability and customisation potential of 3D scanning and printing technology, conceivably gaining new identities for enhanced pertinence in contemporary times.

During Notre Dame’s restoration after the fire of 2019, for instance, digital models helped in studying the condition of the building before and after the fire, assisting in the planning and reconstruction to ensure historical accuracy. The intricate components were then 3D printed for reference, allowing skilled professionals to replicate them easily and swiftly. These innovations in the construction industry in no way imply that methods like 3D printing may replace proficient craftsmen and the gamut of ‘human’ skills. As construction and design process grow increasingly more complex and demanding, there remains a growing need for specialisation, expansion of scope for industry professions, and most importantly, an intrinsic integration with technology.

A diverse mix of professionals at Rotterdam-based RAP studio – architects, roboticists, programmers, designers and researchers – have worked together to fuse the best of computational design and innovations in digital fabrication with their latest undertaking, New Delft Blue. A vibrant and innovative urban intervention next to the historic city centre in Nieuw Delft in the Netherlands, the project is part of a larger development that replaces the railway viaduct that cut the city in half to create a new 24-hectare lively urban environment that brings the town together.

The project itself is a fusion of 3D clay printing and computational design with robotic digital production and artisanal glazing. The studio aims to reclaim the traditional role of an architect, ‘passionately blending architecture with entrepreneurship, manufacturing and craftsmanship’. RAP’s digital workflow significantly reduces error margins and construction costs, and their combined knowledge of designing and construction was able to give them a more comprehensive role in the project.

The PoortMeesters residential building, of which these arches are a part, houses apartments and townhouses and features a central communal courtyard. The visual inspiration for the project is derived from the courtyard’s private gardens, a rainwater storage system, trees and large shrubs that paint an exuberant landscape reminiscent of idyllic scenes often adorning traditional Delft Blue porcelain plates, an artefact of renown from the region. Two large archways clad in blue 3D-printed ceramic tiles act as portals to this lively courtyard setting, resembling the nature-themed frame of the plates, connecting the semi-public courtyard to the larger urban context.

Encasing a four-metre-wide public staircase within, these gates stand eight metres tall and 12 metres deep, clad in 3000 unique digitally generated ceramic tiles with several manufacturing considerations, including maximum overhang, size, shrinkage and a strong internal support structure. Organic patterns create convex and concave folds along the surface, forming waves of rich blue glaze, intensifying at the depressions and softening while dissipating on the convex folds. These variations in colour and form allow the designers to ‘paint with shapes’ with hues of blue, strikingly contrasting the earthy tones of the building’s Wasserstrich brickwork.

Public perception and acceptance remain important, often neglected factors in judging a project’s overall success. For instance, at the heart of Nieuw Delft’s development is the Van Leeuwenhoek Park which occupies the ground formerly bearing the now subterranean railway network for the city. The project makes a point to include the community by taking suggestions from its residents and other interested parties for the park’s design. Including the public in such urban interventions promotes a sense of responsibility and belonging to the neighbourhood. The New Delft Blue, both by name and concept, embodies this new-found identity of Delft, along with reflecting its opulent history in a contemporary fashion. The project breaks barriers by envisioning built environments through a multi-dimensional and multi-disciplinary perspective, merging the best of modern technology and historical ornamentation.

Retrofitted historical buildings and new urban inserts developed with 3D technology bear the potential of becoming visual landmarks and even cultural attractions, driving cities towards more positive economic growth through social and creative events, increasing tourism and thriving creative industries. Interventions such as this can become vibrant socio-cultural hubs, fostering community pride and engagement. Actuating conversations on what was and is, people become a part of what will be.

Project Details

Name: New Delft Blue
Architect: Studio RAP
Client: BPD(Bouwfonds Property Development), Ballast Nedam
Development: Ballast Nedam Bouw West
Contractor and 3D ceramic printing: Studio RAP
Glazing and Firing: Koninklijke Tichelaar
Architect PoortMeesters: VY Architects
Mounting: Kooistra Geveltechniek
Rear structure: Lomax Systems

(Text by Bansari Paghdar, intern at STIR)